A new report from national transportation research nonprofit TRIP has found that U.S. traffic fatalities fell in 2025 for the fourth straight year, but are up 3 percent from a decade ago.
The report, Addressing America’s Traffic Safety Crisis: Examining the Causes of Increasing U.S. Traffic Fatalities and Identifying Solutions to Improve Traffic Safety, looked at traffic fatalities from 2015 to 2025 at the national and state levels, as well as examined causes for the increase in traffic fatalities over the decade, and some solutions aimed at reducing fatalities across the country.
The report found that in 2025, traffic fatalities fell for the fourth straight year, following a surge in 2020, 2021, and 2022. From 2020 to 2025, fatalities claimed more than 241,000 lives. While traffic fatalities increased in 2020 and 2021, they have fallen each year from 2022 through 2025, the report found. Despite the four-year reduction, the number of fatalities in 2025 was still 3 percent higher than in 2015 with 36,640 in 2025, compared to 35,484 in 2015.
“Every traffic fatality represents a life lost, a family changed forever, and a reminder that roadway safety demands continued attention and investment. ATSSA applauds TRIP for highlighting both the encouraging progress and the significant challenges that remain,” Haley Jenkins, chair of the American Traffic Safety Services Association (ATSSA), said. “While four straight years of declining fatalities show that safety improvements are making a difference, more than 36,000 people were killed on our nation’s roads in 2025. Rising pedestrian and bicyclist fatalities further reinforce the need for a comprehensive, coordinated approach to safety.”
The report found that bicyclist and pedestrian fatalities, which accounted for 21 percent of all U.S. traffic fatalities in 2025, grew 8 percent from 2020 to 2025. Pedestrian deaths increased from 6,236 to 6,529 (5 percent), while bicyclist fatalities grew from 891 to 1,148 (29 percent). The TRIP report showed 5,758 motorcyclist fatalities in 2025, a two percent increase over 2020. Motorcyclist fatalities were 16 percent of all traffic fatalities in 2025.
“While it is good news that the number of traffic fatalities is trending downward in recent years, the nation continues to face a traffic safety crisis with nearly a quarter million Americans killed since 2020,” said Dave Kearby, TRIP’s executive director. “Making a commitment to eliminating fatal and serious injuries on the nation’s roadways will require robust investment and coordinated activities by transportation and safety-related agencies in providing the needed layers of protection for the nation’s motorists, pedestrians and bicyclists, including safe road users, safe roads, safe vehicles, safe speeds and high-quality post-crash care.”